For the starters, the choices were simple stonebulb-veilroot soup, simple matis Garden toss salad, bindergrain bread with basilume butter spread, spiced nut and dried sunberry mix, and herb-scented vegetable rolls.

For the main dish choices, there was the option of simple Pan-fried Hornedhare with mashed thornroot (big serving), simple Citrus-Pepper Roast with Crisped Brindlejaw Fat, and Simple Braised Brindlejaw.

The big serving of the hornedhair meat was probably to balance the values since monster meat was much more expensive.

The side dishes were bindergrain rice bowl, fried and seasoned bindergrain rice, mashed thornroot, roasted thornroot wedges, pickled ivara vine, and crisp veilroot fritters.

They had no idea what most of these were but…somehow…they sounded delicious.

They still had doubts, especially with some unfamiliar ingredients in there. Not to mention, it included monster meat that could feel like eating softened rocks.

"Why is there always a 'simple' in the names?" Thea wondered out loud.

"...because it's not essence food?" Arthur said, making a rough guess.

"As if essence food is commonplace, especially in the middle of nowhere…" she said, Arthur shrugged. He was just guessing anyway.

Anyway, they were not poor, so they placed a gold each. The cores were much too valuable for them as awakened-level folk, so they just spent monetary currency outright.

They chose different food for the heck of it since they had no idea what to expect anyway.

After Arthur paid, they felt a bit of an aura in the atmosphere as the money disappeared. However, nothing happened. They were not sure what happened, though.

"It said to place the plate in the designated area," Ravin said. Was he the only one who read everything?

They looked at the side, seeing the utensils as well as the rectangular plates that seemed to have shallow dividers to make sure that the food didn't mix.

It was a really unique setup.

Then, after placing it on the assigned pattern, the aura changed again, and the next thing they knew, there was food on the plate!

!!!!

"Wow."

"What kind of rune is this?!"

"This is amazing."

Since they were from the eastern territories, they were a bit more familiar with runes and had better access to them. Interestingly, because they knew more, they found the canteen's system itself fascinating.

It was just that the aroma wafted up their noses and they momentarily forgot about the technicalities, focusing solely on the contents of the plate.

Arthur stared at the food and settled at the nearest table, eyes on the food, while the others picked their meals.

He chose the soup, the 'braised brindlejaw', the fried rice thing, and then the vegetable rolls.

He didn't wait for the others. Just looking at it made him hungry, seducing him to eat already.

And he did.

The first bite, his already bright eyes sparkled even more.

Delicious!

…

The same sight appeared with the other three as soon as they took a bite. Even the stoic Ignus and the forever-somber Ravin were eating so deliciously that the food practically disappeared on their plates.

What a pity, he wanted to try a few of the foods on their plates.

Fortunately…they could order again!

And so, Arthur went back to the counter and chose another set.

He had to admit, having a choice of what could go into a set was fascinating and a little addictive on its own, let alone that it was really delicious.

He felt like he had to try every combination!

Even the food he already tasted, he would wonder what it would be like if combined with something else!

Anyway, they didn't know meat could taste like that, or that greens could be so delicious!

He didn't even know a third of these ingredients, and those he heard did not have much reputation as being delicious.

There was just a new set of flavours that were alien to him, and he wanted to taste them all!

The other three seemed to have gotten the same idea too, because they were already queuing by the time he got a new tray.

The group only went out by the time they ate three plates each, and it so happened that a new mob had been attacking the barriers.

The difference was that none of the staff were fighting this time; they were literally doing something else.

Some were gardening, some were feeding the chens and the woccs. Then the rest seemed to be building a large shed of sorts at the side.

Because they were busy and in a rush earlier, they forgot there were other buildings.

They couldn't help but wonder.

"Does the barrier not get damaged?" Thea couldn't help but ask, and the nearest staff member answered her inquiries.

"Of course it does, but we have our tasks now," Durgan said. "It's good to give chances to others."

"What?"

Someone patted his shoulder. "It means we should kill them ourselves."

Ignus nodded. "It's a good way to get the food down…maybe we can eat again after."

"..."

That was actually very smart.

Not to mention, they really did need this. Fortunately, their brief rest recovered a few points of stats.

Thea blinked as she stared at the status screen. "Is it just me, or did we recover much more than usual?"

How long had it been since they entered? An hour? She already got a few points?

"Of course! You're in the Wanderer's Refuge!" Ranran, who was walking behind them with a cart of eggs in hand, couldn't help but comment.

She then walked to the inn as if what she said had answered the question.

Ravin looked at them. "They did mention regeneration is faster here. Apparently, that is not limited to their rooms."

Even extra regeneration in the rooms felt miraculous, like how the temples healed people. Now, it seemed like just being in the area could have similar effects.

The more they experienced it, the more magical it was. Even the twins, who had been exposed to magic books from the old times, were impressed.

"Anyway, let's go," Ravin said, pushing down his own curiosity—at least for now. "Remember our deadline."

And so, the four, with full stomachs, went to fight the monsters…and burn what they had eaten by the way~

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.